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Will South Africa pull out of the ICC?

As a signatory, South Africa has an obligation to arrest President Putin if he enters the country. He’s due to visit in August for a summit

It’s been a case of will they? Won’t they?

Speaking at an event last month, South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said that his party, the ANC, had taken the decision to pull out of the International Criminal Court. But then, the party backtracked and said it was still under discussion.

It’s all come about because of President Vladimir Putin. In March, the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. As a signatory, South Africa is expected to hand him over if he steps foot on its soil.

But in August he’s due to attend a BRICS summit in Durban, attended by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. So what’s likely to happen? Will President Putin be able to visit?

For Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja speaks to the ANC’s Mmapaseka Letsike and Ottilia Maunganidze of the Institute for Security Studies.

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